David Abshire

David Abshire General Information

Biography

Mr. David Abshire serves as President at Richard Lounsbery Foundation. David M. Abshire is Vice Chairman & Counselor of the Center for the Study of the Presidency & Congress (CSPC) in Washington, D.C. He is Vice Chairman of the Board of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C., which he co-founded with Admiral Arleigh Burke in 1962, and served as its chief executive for many years. In 2002, he led in the establishment of the Abshire-Inamori Leadership Academy at CSIS. David Abshire is a 1951 graduate of West Point, and later received his doctorate with Honors (Gold Key Society) in History from Georgetown University. For many years he was an adjunct professor at its School of Foreign Service, and initially, CSIS was affiliated with the university. Dr. Abshire served as Assistant Secretary of State for Congressional Relations from 1970-1973 and later as the first Chairman of the U.S. Board of International Broadcasting. He was a member of the Murphy Commission on the Organization of the Government, the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, and the President's Task Force on U.S. Government International Broadcasting. During the transition of government in 1980, Dr. Abshire was asked by President-elect Reagan to head the National Security Group, which included the State and Defense Departments, the U.S. Information Agency, and the Central Intelligence Agency. He has also served on the Advisory Board of the Naval War College and on the Executive Panel of the Chief of Naval Operations. More recently in 1983-1987, he was Ambassador to NATO where, in reaction to the threat posed by Soviet SS-20 missiles, he was the United States point man in Europe for deployment of Pershing and Cruise missiles. It was this NATO success that convinced the Soviets to sign the historic INF Treaty and withdraw their missiles. Ambassador Abshire initiated a new conventional defense improvement effort so that NATO would not have to rely heavily on nuclear weapons. For this, he was given the highest Defense Department civilian award-the Distinguished Public Service Medal. In December 1986, at the depths of the Iran-Contra crisis, he was called by President Reagan to leave NATO to serve in the Cabinet, as Special Counsellor, and help restore confidence in the Presidency. He dealt with the Tower Board, the Independent Counsel, and the Congressional investigation committees, and often met with the President alone. Dr. Abshire is a vice chair of the Council of American Ambassadors, a member of the Advisory Board of the School of Public Service at St. Albans School, a trustee of the George C. Marshall Foundation, a member of the Council on Competitiveness, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Fondation Paul-Henri Spaak (Brussels), and the International Institute for Strategic Studies (London). He also is the co-convenor and a founding member of the Trinity National Leadership Roundtable. In 2003, he served on the Advisory Group for Public Diplomacy mandated by Congress. In 2005, he chaired a panel for the Homeland Security Advisory Board for developing for the maritime domain a layered defense against weapons of mass effect.